SINN FÉIN MP John Finucane has said proposed amendments to legacy legislation shows the ‘contempt’ the British Government has for Troubles victims.
Mr Finucane, MP for Belfast North, was speaking after Secretary of State Hilary Benn announced today that the legislation will include ‘a substantial package of amendments’.
He suggested these will include safeguards for former British soldiers, who served in Northern Ireland under Operation Banner, ‘to whom we owe so much and to whom we have a particular duty of care’.
The Labour Government introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in October last year to repeal and replace the previous government’s Legacy Act.
The earlier legislation had drawn criticism for seeking to do away with inquests into Troubles-era deaths and for providing immunity from prosecution for those who cooperated with a commission set up under the Act to investigate deaths and injuries related to the Troubles.
In a ministerial statement on Wednesday, Mr Benn said he had been ‘consulting widely’ on the legislation and had ‘considered the many amendments that have been tabled’.
“The result of these deliberations is that the government will bring forward a substantial package of amendments designed to improve the process for victims and families, further safeguard our Operation Banner veterans and ensure oversight of their protections, and clearly differentiate between the role played during the Troubles by our brave security forces and the actions of paramilitary terrorists,” wrote Benn.
‘No thought or empathy for families’
In response to the statement, Mr Finucane described the proposed protections for British soldiers as ‘extreme political cynicism’ from the Labour Government.
“Today’s statement released by Hilary Benn underlines the contempt the British government has for victims who suffered at the hands of their state forces,” he said.
“It displays no thought or empathy for families, but rather is designed to placate the British military lobby and the interests of security and intelligence agencies.
“Agencies and a lobby which have shown in the past to be interested in nothing other than protecting the interests of the British state and their actors.
“The only way this can be viewed is as an act of extreme political cynicism as the British Labour Party watches its electoral base crumble ahead of next month’s elections.
“The British government has reneged on its previous legacy commitments in pursuit of votes and in the process will attempt to bury the secrets of Britain’s war in Ireland at whatever cost.
“Hilary Benn accepts this is the final chance to get legacy right, as do many. But by delaying this bill and drawing up a loaded package of protections for British military personnel, he is clearly signalling his intent.
“Victims and families who have spent decades fighting for the simple right to truth and justice for their loved ones will today have their confidence further eroded by the disgraceful actions of the British government.”
Mr Finucane concluded by calling on the Irish Government to speak out against ‘what is clearly a disdainful diversion from their joint legacy framework’.
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